SnickerSnack
by Mistress Ashley
Summary: Prompt: Willow Rosenberg/The Jabberwocky  2010 Alice  and Nightmares. Character Death
1. SnickerSnack

**Disclaimer:** I own neither Buffy nor Alice in Wonderland. They each belong to their respective creators, and I make no profit from writing this story.

**Warnings: **Character death

**Prompt: **Willow Rosenberg/The Jabberwocky (2010 Alice) and Nightmares.

**AN: **Prompt comes from my Buffy/Angel + Alice in Wonderland Prompt Generator. Many more generators can be found at http : / / thebunnybox . bravehost . com (If you don't want to copy and paste you can find the link in my profile under Home of the Crossover Prompt Generators.)

Poem from http :/ / www . jabberwocky . com / carroll / jabber / jabberwocky . html

* * *

Willow watched, eyes glued to the top of the tower as the small dots of Buffy and Dawn met. Her eyes squinted past the bright tear in the fabric of the worlds as the Dawn speck began moving back to the end of the tower. "No," she whispered and her hand gripped Tara's fingers tighter, mottling the skin and sending twinges of pain up her arm, but the quiet woman only squeezed back.

Her attention was pulled from the ensuing argument as the portal arched lightening, spitting out a massive, black form. Her breath caught in her throat as the beast's long neck twisted to and fro, nose lifting high to scent the air. The beast glanced below it at the portal containing its body before it seemed to come to a decision. It's neck arched back as it pulled its body upward. Powerful wings cast mighty shadows over those on the ground as they beat hard, pulling the body into the sky. The tail twitched free, crashing into the tower with a horrendous banging noise.

Willow was gripped by terror; it tightened her chest and forced the air from her lungs. It looked like a dragon but something within her told her that was an incorrect assumption. This being was something far worse.

A scream dragged her attention away from hastily fleeing black shape and drew her eyes back to the tower. The scream came from the only speck left at the top of the tower. Another kind of fear pulled at her as her eyes skipped over the closing portal and landed on a pale shape laying crumpled at the bottom of the tower.

"Buffy," Willow whispered in despair, tugging Tara forward as shock set in; all thoughts of dragons and black beasts gone.

BAiW BAiW BAiW BAiW BAiW BAiW BAiW

_Beware the Jabberwock, my son!  
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_

The words hushed through the blackness of her mind, sending Willow tossing and turning in her bed. Sweat glistened on her face and her brow puckered in something close to pain.

Blackness surrounded her, and Willow knew this was a dream, could almost feel the sheets twisting tighter and tighter around her body where she lay sleeping in bed. Tara had decided to stay at the dorm, studying for an upcoming exam. This left Willow with no one to wake her from this nightmare.

There was a swish of sound in the dark and Willow's heart jumped into her throat as she strained her eyes searching for whatever made the sound. Wherever she was however gave nothing away. She raised her hands to her face and was slightly surprised to be able to see them perfectly. What was this darkness if not true dark?

_Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun  
The furious Bandersnatch!_

There was another rustle of sound, a huff of displaced air. Willow closed her eyes, drawing in a calming breath. This was just a dream; nothing could hurt you in a dream, right?

_He took his vorpal sword in hand:_

The words came in a hurried rush, still as quiet as ever but more frenzied. It made the terror claw at her chest and Willow raised a hand to feel her heart racing under her frantically rising and falling bosom. It was this that drew her attention to the weight in her other hand. It hadn't been there a moment ago, and she raised that hand as well. There was a sword clutched tightly in her fist. Her thumb slid over twisting silver hilt. The silver gleamed oddly against the dark and her eyes ran up the blade. The blade was dark, eating up the darkness but small circles of silver, no bigger than pennies, shined up the length of the blade.

_Long time the manxome foe he sought -  
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,  
And stood awhile in thought._

Bark bit into her back and Willow twisted sharply around. There was nothing but more darkness behind her but reaching out a hand met the same roughness she had moments ago been resting against. What was this?

_And, as in uffish thought he stood,  
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,  
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,  
And burbled as it came!_

Through the black before her eyes came another rustle. This sound was followed by an excited murmur that rang through the dark and clutched at her heart. Red specks shone through the dark and it took a moment for Willow to place the shape; they were eyes bobbing through the dark, drawing ever nearer to where she stood. Straining her eyes, Willow could pick up the slight outline of some large shape.

The beast was upon her in the blink of an eye, excited chatter chirping from its mouth. Claws flew through the darkness, and Willow's hands moved instinctively. She clutched the blade tightly between them and swung. The creature screeched in pain, drawing the bleeding hand backwards. It paced before her, and Willow settled into a better stance.

The voices rose up as the creature attacked again; they rose up so loud that she was nearly deafened, claws raking across her arm as she tried to listen to their words.

_One, two! One, two! And through and through  
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_

The blade swished through the air and sliced through flesh and bone with a snicking sound. The beast's head fell with a thud at her feet and Willow skittered backward as it rolled towards her.

_He left it dead, and with its head  
He went galumphing back._

The voices quieted as though they whispered excitedly in her ear.

_And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?_

The darkness eased from around her, and Willow could see that she stood in the crumbling ruins of what might once have been a great castle. The beast's body lay in a broken heap before her, in the spot its head had once rolled nearer to her. Willow's eyes scanned the area around her, following the steps that twisted around the shattered tower she stood upon. The ground below her was bare but for a giant checkered floor and more rubble. Among the bits of stone and rock lay the giant head of the beast.

_Come to my arms, my beamish boy!  
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!  
He chortled in his joy._

Willow's eyes widened in horror as she glanced desperately between the body and the detached head. This beast, this Jabberwock, was the same terror inspiring beast that had come through the portal over a month ago.

A laugh rose around her, frantic and mad, ringing in her ears as she was dragged from her sleep.

Willow panted in horror as she sat bolt upright in her bed. Her thoughts turning wildly round and round in her head before she noticed the extra weight beside her. She didn't want to look. A whimper escaped her as the weight heated irritably under her questing fingers. Her eyes clenched tight as her head turned slowly towards the warmth. Slitting them open brought the sight of a blade, the same as in her dream, laid out beside her upon the covers.

Laughter, frantic and mad, escaped her lips as her fingers curled unerringly around the smooth hilt. This felt right, like this blade, this vorpal blade was made just for her hands.

Willow never noticed how like the mad laughter of her dreams she sounded.

End


	2. The Freedom of a Different Choice

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Buffy or Alice, and I'm still making absolutely nothing writing this.

**AN**: I couldn't resist writing more. I think I can squeeze out another two or three parts for this fic just to tie up the loose ends I have running through my head.

This part is in the Jabberwocky's POV and is likely to read weirdly. The Jabberwocky is intelligent and yet still animal. Some of the names it/he has for things are likely to confuse you at first.

* * *

**The Freedom of a Different Choice**

He couldn't remember his name. He was sure he had one at one time but it was such a long time ago that everything but the title bestowed upon him by the Queen remained. She named him Jabberwocky, _her_ Jabberwocky. She was the only being to ever call him that with something close to love. Intelligent he may be, but the basis of his personality was completely animal and love to an animal was loyalty. The Jabberwocky would do anything for his Queen, had done anything for his Queen. He razed whole clans to the ground, gobbled up the running and screaming humans on her orders.

The Jabberwocky woke from his sleep, throwing off the stone that encased him and bellowing his rage to the sky. He would kill the girl as his Queen commanded.

Except it wasn't that easy. The girl, Alice, _the_ Alice of prophecy wielded his old enemy. She held it all wrong, as if the vorpal blade was merely a silly human weapon, but the enchantments of the blade more than made up for her clumsy swings. The Jabberwocky growled in fear and anger; he could feel himself losing. He pushed himself harder as he watched his Queen become buried under a pile of white chess men.

The Jabberwocky rounded the twisting stairs, snuffling the air for the girl. She was hiding scared; that was good … except she wasn't hiding. She was above him, vorpal sword held aloft as the prophecy showed, aimed to sever his head from his neck.

"Off with _your_ head!" The girl-child gave as her war cry.

And he was falling or rising, tipping and tripping through the air and his head was pointed skyward, nose to the air as he breathed in scents so different from those of Underland. The air was polluted, heavy with acrid scents and none of the forests and flowers he was used to, not even those of the stone buildings. The air was filled with metal, dying or already dead trees, and heavy with the scents of humans and pounding, pumping blood. There was no madness floating freely, but there was something else.

The Jabberwocky tilted his head, trying to catch the stench that tickled his nose. It was a scent he knew well, living with the Queen. It was the scent of evil and malice and it coated this clan's dwelling. It drew him and he glanced below himself to find a glowing globe of light and energy encasing his body. Did he allow himself to slip back into that world that held a defeated Queen and certain death by his long known foe or did he pull himself free from this prison and explore this new world of unknown scents—a world without the vorpal blade needed to defeat him?

Decision made, the Jabberwocky arched his neck and tugged his body free, wings spreading gracefully to catch the wind and raise his body from its prison. Free at last, he chose the direction that would lead him to the most malice soaked place and flew at high speeds before the energy could attempt to drag him back or maybe before it would decide to send Alice and her sword through.

The Jabberwocky flew, sweeping low and high. The height kept him hidden, something he was sure was needed in this new world, but the acrid stench was worse and confused his nose with an itch and a tickle. Finally, he came upon the heaviest concentration of evil; swooping low provided him with the view of a burned and broken stone building. The stone was oddly colored, not the creams and reds of the Queen's dwelling or even the pure whiteness of the Queen's enemy foe. The chunks of rock were oddly broken and then fused together with smears of white gunk.

The Jabberwocky landed beside the rubble, nudging bits and pieces out of his way. The scent was here but seemed to be rising upwards. It was as if the scent was buried beneath the ground. Still, there had to be a way to get to that scent if the scent was indeed there. How else would it come to be there if no one had put it there? He used clawed fingers to dig through the stone, snuffling the ground that was uncovered, drawing ever nearer to the main, gutted structure.

His digging soon uncovered a set of cracked steps leading downwards. The structure above and below creaked as he forced his massive body through the narrow opening. The steps took him deeper, opening slightly at the bottom. Even with the addition of space, the walls pressed painfully against his wings and the Jabberwocky tucked them as tightly against his sides as he could as he crawled, belly to the floor, through the space.

The Jabberwocky traveled deeper under the building and down another set of stairs. Finally, the scent grew thicker and his dark form turned into a room. This one was larger, large enough that he could spread his wings at a comfortable distance before they were stopped. He breathed deeply of the malice, circling the room before he settled onto the floor. Yes, this would make a perfect den, he decided as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep contented.

The seal under the sleeping creature gave an enticing throb of dark energy and the Jabberwocky gave a satisfied sigh in his sleep, nuzzling his spiked face into his clawed fingers crossed before him and slipped deeper into sleep.

End


	3. Last Laughs

**Disclaimer:** If you recognize it, it's not mine. Some lines taken from Alice in Wonderland script; they may have been changed during the making of the movie but not likely by much.

**AN:** Next up is Last Laughs from the White Queen's POV. I couldn't resist sneaking in a few small mentions of Alice/Tarrant. I hope you guys enjoy this and that the story isn't developing too slowly for you.

* * *

Mirana, the White Queen, newly crowned Queen of Underland, watched with a heavy frown dragging her dark brows together. The Jabberwocky had escaped. One thick eyebrow arched gracefully as she hummed, pale hands fluttering around her. "That can't be good."

The blonde's eyes narrowed upon the hazy spot before Alice as the rip closed. The connection, the ability to feel all Underlanders snapped harshly as the Jabberwocky exited this realm. She stored her feelings and questions away until she could return to her castle and brew up a potion to have those questions answered. For that to happen, she had to deal with her sister foe first.

Mirana pushed the dark emotions away, the voices in her head that screamed for red blood to be spilt from the Red Queen in retribution. She was not that woman, every living creature (even her horrid sister) deserved life. Though none could detect the slight twitch in the muscles of her face, she could feel the malicious smirk pull at her skin. She would have the last laugh … figuratively speaking, of course.

"Iracebeth of Crims, your crimes against Underland are worthy of death. But that is against my vows. Therefore, you are banished to the Outlands. No one is to show you any kindness or ever speak a word to you. You will have no one to speak to … not a friend in the world."

Mirana watched detachedly as the Knight bowed and curried for her favor.

"Ilosovic Stayn, you will join Iracebeth in banishment in the Outlands from this day until the end of Underland." All the better if they killed each other, a dark part of her mind piped up. They were certainly well on their way, a knife being wrested from the Knight's hands.

The Red Queen's voice rang through the quiet, yelling towards her Knight, as they were dragged away by their own red suited cards. "You tried to kill me! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!"

Yes, the last laugh indeed.

The White Queen hummed as she moved around her expansive potion's room. A dash of this, a pinch of that, a finger here, and a dash of the Jabberwocky's blood scavenged from the ruins.

"Yes, that should do," Mirana murmured pleasantly as she inhaled of the rancid cloud rising from the pot. She turned her head, eyes still focused solely upon her potion, to the small dormouse watching eagerly from the end of the table. "Fetch me the Hatter, Mallymkun," the Queen commanded absently. Her pale, slender hands worked meticulously as she bottled the potion—two doses and not a drop more.

Right on time too, for the door cracked open not a moment after she corked the bottle to admit the familiar hatted head of Tarrant Hightopp. His body followed shortly after as he slipped around the partially opened door. So like him to take the hard way when simply opening the door fully and walking through would have been so much easier. There were times when she missed Tarrant, not this mad Mad Hatter of now, but the young man who stood at her side and danced the Futterwacken for her on Frabjous Day. Mirana missed the dancing the most, but this Hatter was much funnier, especially when she got him going. The things that man could spout out in his rambling babbles.

"My Queen?"

Ah, right, she was supposed to be finding where the Jabberwocky disappeared to, not daydreaming of Futterwacken. "I require your aid, my Hatter. The Jabberwocky must be found, and I have just the thing to do that." The White Queen shook the bottles in her hand gently, causing the silver specked white liquid to swish and swirl.

"Will it be brought back for the Alice to slay?" Hatter asked curiously.

Mirana knew he both hoped and dreaded the return. There had not been enough blood to be salvaged to return Alice home, even with the amount that was needed for her potion. If the Jabberwocky could be returned and slain there would certainly be enough to return Alice to her home realm. Her poor Hatter was terribly in love and seemed not to notice. She wondered how he was going to take the news she needed to share with him? "The Alice she may be, but my champion she is not."

"But you said …" Hatter had never looked so stunned and utterly speechless.

"I said what I thought was true, what was once true. I have consulted with Absolem and the prophecy has changed. The tear in the realms which pulled the Jabberwocky through has changed the course of Underland's future to irreversible extents. There is a new champion and a new location within the prophecy. The Alice is the Alice no more; she is merely Alice, and merely Alice is not my champion."

Hatter's head tipped to the side, nearly upside down, and Mirana wondered how his famous hat stayed atop his head at such an angle. "Are we to find this new champion with your potion?"

Mirana sighed as she pulled the prophecy scroll from behind her back, spreading it across a clear space on her work table. There before them was a colored drawing when once it was simply black ink upon old parchment. The Jabberwocky stood out in all its black glory; its eyes shown with fire and hatred. Before the menacing creature stood a girl child in odd clothes, by no means the regal armor Alice had worn to the battle, but the vorpal blade was clear to see from where it was held masterfully in the painted figure's hands. "Why she could be a cousin of yours, my Hatter, with hair of that color." It was true, the tiny figure's hair flowed down her back, a perfect match to Hatter's if only in color. Where Hatter's was a riotous mass of frizz, this woman's laid straight but for the windblown strands that tangled around her neck.

The Hatter ignored her comment as he always did when family was brought up. "Is she the Alice?"

"No, according to Absolem she is the Willow, a warrior of her own realm. We must make her aware of the danger that has passed through the tear and give her the means of dealing with such a threat." Again, she pulled the vorpal blade from behind her back. It was such a nifty trick that Mirana couldn't resist using it often. She held the blade aloft, inspecting its length with a critical eye.

With a sigh, she handed over a bottle of potion, popping the cork of her own bottle. "This should take us to where we need to be, best to sit down though," she commented as she breezed to a wooden chair in the corner. The Hatter threw himself onto the floor before her and gulped his potion in one go. Mirana shook her head as she watched his body collapse. "Children of today, they have no patience." She downed her own potion quickly and allowed her body to slump backwards.

The world was dark around them when they arrived but quickly lightened to reveal the Hatter standing crossed eyed beside her. Perhaps she should have warned him about the roughness of the journey? The muscles in her face gave a twitch.

"Here is not the place we just were, but if we are not where we were, where then might we be?"

The world lightened more as if in answer to Hatter's nonsensical question. It looked like a version of Underland. The trees were much the same and sprouted up oddly through the darkness. There was a whisper of movement and Mirana felt the Hatter tense beside her. Yes, she had felt it as well. The Jabberwocky was prowling the darkness. There was another whisper of movement and their eyes found the redhead of prophecy suddenly appearing within the clearing.

The girl was pretty, Mirana guessed, in the way of Alice. Her skin was pale, made paler by the black backdrop, but no where near the whiteness of her own skin or Hatter's too white skin. Her eyes were green but nothing terribly vibrant, pupils too small and color too dull. The hair was a beautiful shade of flame but had none of the manic wildness or ethereal gleam of an Underlander. Still, the color made up for the lack of oddness much the way her own does. Why must her champions be so dull? She hoped this one's mind was as mad as Alice's; that would certainly make up for anything.

Mirana began the chant shortly after the girl's arrival, the Oraculum¹ of the Jabberwocky falling softly from her darkly painted lips. The Hatter caught on quickly and added his deep brogue. One eye focused on the redhead while the other followed the movements of the Jabberwocky. Though this was to be a dream taking place in the girl's mind and the Jabberwocky was to be but a figment of imagination, it didn't surprise the White Queen too much that the beast had actually been pulled in, was truly here and not a simple conjuration.

Anticipation welled up within her as the poem reached the part of the vorpal sword. It was a simple matter of displacing the blade into the redhead's hand. Excitement gripped her heart as she watched the girl fight. Mirana was glad of the distraction the Jabberwocky presented as her eyes glowed through the dark with triumph. This was the champion she had wished for. The redhead wielded the vorpal blade as it was meant to be wielded, taking down the Jabberwocky with victorious flourish.

The White Queen watched as the world lit up and realization set in on pixie like features. She was correct in her assumption then; the girl had already encountered the Jabberwocky in her realm. The muscles in her face twitched once more as the Hatter's mad and manic laughter rang and echoed off the deserted rubble.

The checkerboard floor beneath their feet faded back to darkness as the girl disappeared from the dreamscape taking the Jabberwocky with her. The vorpal blade appeared in the White Queen's hands as if it had never left them. Mirana quirked a brow at the sword sternly. "Your work has just begun, off with you." The sword faded reluctantly from her hands, lingering for as long as it could.

Mirana sighed sadly to see the blade go. It was only just recently returned to her after such a long absence. She hoped it didn't stay gone for long. Her raised hand turned palm upwards and the Hatter's settled around it. "Our work is finished, my Hatter. I am sure your Alice is beginning to wonder where you have wandered off to. Let us return to Underland, for the Jabberwocky is no longer our concern."

The White Queen and the Mad Hatter faded from the blackness and their bodies, stiff and still in the potions workroom, jerked awake. Mirana watched with a twinkle in her eyes as Tarrant hurried from the room, stumbling over numb feet in his attempt to make teatime with merely (his) Alice.

Yes, the last laugh indeed … figuratively speaking, of course.

**End**

¹ Oraculum is the compendium of Underland. The original script (much was changed in the making of the movie) commented on the poem and stated that it was in the Oraculum. I figured an Underlander would reference it as such instead of calling it a poem.

* * *

The next part I have tentatively named The Conclusion. I have high hopes that it will be the last chapter, but I have some small (tiny, really) doubts that everything will be tied up with a pretty bow. I hope to have it posted by Monday night if all goes well. Anything you guys desperately want to see before the end? What about Buffy; do you guys want her brought back or left dead? Input is always welcome. Leave a review and let me know. XD


End file.
